Check protector



Aug. 14, 192s. I 1,680,443

G. W. BEEBE CHECK PROTECTOR Original Filed May 27, 1918 5l Sheets-Shea?l2 Aug. 14, 152s.

G. W. BEEBE CHECK PROTECTOR [lili/[17111071271011111777 Patented Aug.14, 1928.

UNITED STATES Lauria` PATENT oFFiCE.

GAYLRD W. BEEBE, OF `ALBANY, GEORGIA.

CHECK PROTECTOR.

Application led May 27, 1918, Serial 110.236,774. Renewed September',1924.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine 4for printing on acheck, draft or` A further object 1s to provide a'machine for marking acheck, draft or other instrument on both sides of the paper, in'such away as to do awaywith the necessity .of serrating `the paper and at thesame time give better protection to the check orother in strumentv andleave it in a neater, stronger 4and more perfect condition.

A further object is to 'accomplish `the entire operation of feeding,spacing, locking in position, and marking or printing the check orinstrument automatically, .by the simple means of one operation, of onekey on a keyboard for each Word or figure to be marked on the check orinstrument.

A fur-ther object is toy provide a machine which will accommodate`almost `any size check, draft, or other Linstrument and be easy andconvenient to operate.

A further object is to Vprovide one in which the mechanism fis easilyaccessi.- ble for cleansing or repairs.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following Adetaileddescription.

The invention consists generally inyvarious Iconstructions andcombinations, all `as hereinafter described Jand particularly pointedout in the claims. n

In thel accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, i i

Figurel is Va plan view 'of acheck protector,` being partially brokenaway, Y

`li`igure 2 is a verticalrsectional view Aofthe same, taken on the line2.2 =of Figure A3,

Figure S is a cross sectional View taken on the line of Figure 2, fvFigure l is asimilar view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 2, n i Figure-isia cross Vsectional View, taken .on the linef'of Figure 2,

` f Figure 6 is a crosssectional view .takenron the line 61-6 of Figure2, y Y p Figures 7 and "8 are detail views for marking on `the endfaceof a check,

t Figure 9 isa plan sectional view, taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 4.

'a check protector of simple, compact construction and,

In the drawing, 9. represents a suitable base on which the operatingmechanism of the machine is mounted, and 3 a suitable casing secured tothe base at' 4.3 A narrow gap or opening ,5 is provided betweenthe baseand the Walls ofthe casing for the insertion of the check to be printedor marked, A shaft 6 is journaled horizontally `in said casing (seeFigure 2) and a suitable type Wheel 7 is centrally secured thereon andpro vided with a series of peripherally arranged characters 8, itheimpression of which is to be made` upon the surface of the check, draft,

or other instrument. These characters; or figures extend only partiallyaround the peripheral surface of the wheel andthe wheel is mounted toturn one-half of arevolution or rany desired fraction thereof, as willhere` inafter more clearly appear from the detailed description of theoperating mechamsm. v y

i In the rear of the casingV a shaft 9 is hori! zontally mounted,supporting a series of keys 10 which project through slots 11 in thefront of the casing and are provided With suitable caps 12 on whichfigures or characters or words are printed lcorresponding to those onthe type Wheel k(see Figure l).

Loosely mounted in the walls of the ycasing are shafts 13 and 14,preferably larrangedend toV lend rand having yfreedom of independentoscillation in their bearings.

On these shafts a series of cams l5 vare secured, corresponding innumber to the ke s and in the'same vertical plane respective y' ofthekeys to be `actuated bythedepression thereof. 'The `fil-Ces 16ofthese cams are concaved on an arc, described from the center vof theshaft 9, and the keys have .i

convex` surfaces 17 to engage the concave faces of the cams. v K

so that their faces will be in 4the form of aV The cams are arranged ofits key to adjustthe first character 8 on f the Wheel 7 to a position onthe underside of the Wheel for contact With the upper falce of the checkand the extreme right and left lhand cams being revolved a quartery of alll revolution. When a key is depressed to the limit of its down stroke,its face 17 will seat snugly against the face 1G of its cam and the camand printing wheel Will thereby be locked against movement in eitherdirection until the key is released, and downward movement of each keywill be arrested when its surface 19 contacts with the top of the cam.lVhen a key is released, its spring 20 raises it to its normal position.

Secured to the'shaft 13 is a gear segment 21 engaging anidle gear 22that meshes with a 'gear secured to one end of the shaft G. The ratio ofthe segment and gear is tivo to one. Then the key at the extreme lefthand end of the keyboard'is operated to rotate the cam, the shaft 13will be revolved a quarter of a revolution and through the gearing abovedescribed, the type-Wheel Will be revolved one-half of a revolutiontoivard-the right. bringing the uppermost character or Word to aposition on the' underside of the wheel opposite and adjacentr thefaceof the check to be printed. The other cams on this shaft 13 will travela proportionately less distance through the operation of their keys androtate the printing wheel a correspondingly less distance to present thedesired character thereon to its printing position. The shaft 14 withits cams is a duplicate of the shaft 13 and its cams, the onlydifference being in the transmission mechanism, which consists in thegear segment 24 engaging the gear 25 on the same shaft that the printingWheel is mounted on, thereby causing the said wheel to be revolved inthe opposite direction from that secured, through the operation of theidle gear The movement of the printing Wheel through the gear 25 willrevolve said wheelftowvard the left in Figure 4, thereby bringing theupper character or` Word 4on the wheel indicated on the key at theextreme right hand of the keyboard' in printing position on theunderside of the wheel. It will he understood that the' shafts 13 and14, while in concentric relation, are capable of independent operation,each controlledby an independent group of keys and the keys actuatingtheir respective cams on the shafts 13and 14 for imparting a rotarymovement to the type Wheel. The purpose. of having these Vtivo sets ofcams and keys is to avoid extreme rotation of the printing ivheel in onedirection to bring its characters kin 'proper printing position. Byoperating the Wheel first in one direction and then in the other, I amable to reduce its travel andl at the same time present quicklyeach'character toits proper printing position.

For thev purpose lof returning the type wheel i', the shafts 13 and 14and their cams to theirnormal position, I provide pins 26 mounted in thesegments 2l and 24. These pins are engaged by arms 27 secured to theshaft 9 and connected with one another by a rod 28. Springs 29 connectthe arms 27 with the casing for raising and holding said arms againststops 30 mounted in the end walls of the casing.

The rod 28 is positioned directly beneath the normal osition of theinner ends of the keys 10 ant whenever any one of the keys is depressedit Will immediately contact with said rod and rock the shaft 9 with itsarms 2T and thereby move said arms out of engagement with the pins 26.Further movement of the key will engage its cam, revolve the sha-ft 13and set the printing wheel in its printing position, the pin 26 on thesegment operated on will follow the arm 27' While the pin and the othersegment will travel in the opposite direction. When the key is released,its spring 29 will return the arms 27 to their normal position. One ofsaid arms will conta-ct with the pin 26 in the segment that has beenoperated and rotate it to its normal position, While the pin 26 in theopposite segment will move in the opposite direction until it contactswith the other arm 27. In this position, the arms 27 will be in contactwith the stop pins 30, as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

The convex faces of the keys interlocking with the concave face of thecams 15 and lfreely moving up ordown while in lock, provides apositioning and locking means for thetype Wheel, While the printing isbeing accomplished, but as an additional safeguard, I may provide asupplementary locking mechanism as follows: A disc 31 is secured to thegear 25 on the shaft 6. Said disc has a series of peripheral notches 32corresponding in number to the characters on the wheel 7 in position tobe engaged by a tooth 33 on an arm 34 pivoted at 34 on the wheelof thecasing and held out of en gagement normally With the disc by a spring 35and a stop pin 3G. The arm is provided with an adjusting screw 37 to heengaged by the hub of the arm 27 when it is depressed. This, however,does not occur until Ithe proper character on the printing wheel'is inposition for printing.r and when this adjustment has been obtained, oneof the slots 32 in the disc will be positioned to receive the tooth 38for locking the dise and the printing Wheel against rotary move ment ineither direction, While the printing operation is being performed.

It will be noted from an examination of Figure G that the downwardstroke of the keysis more than necessary for the operation of the camsl5 and that the key moves in the-arc of its cam circle some dist-anceafter the cams 15 stop rotating. This additional movement is utilizedfor completing the movement of the check up against the type characteron the wheel and also for eiecting the supplementary locking mecha-Anism. The mechanism which I prefer to employ for the former purposeIwill not describe in detail.

Secured on the shaft 9 are arms 38 connected with one another bya rod39. Links 40 connect said arms with a yoke 4l pivoted at 42 in the base.A pressure roller or platen 42 is mounted in said yoke and has deadvcenter with respect to the link 40` and .yoke 41.- greatest and the yokeis practically station- AtV such time, the leverage is ary for aconsiderable arc of the movement. An adjustable screw 44 engaging therod 39 forms a stop for the arm 38 and preventsl overthrow beyond thecenter. A. suitable opening 45 is provided in ythe ibase and a similaropening 46 in theV plate 47 registers with the opening` 45 and throughthese openings the roller 42goperates.l To further protect the check., Iprefer to print a continuous line of ink on the underside of the checkor` instrument, opposite or adjacent the imprint on the `facevo-f thecheck or instrument. To this end the roller 42 and peripheral projectionare of a length to vfully cover the longest word printed and its space.Inking rolls 48 `and 49 are yielding- 1y` mounted yin a carrier or cage50, slidably mounted at 51in the base and locked therein by any suitablemeans, such as an arm 51 on a knob engaging a slot 53 in the base. Thecarrier can thus be easily removed whenever it is desired to apply inkto the` cause the roll or platen to revolve in con-A i tact with the inkroll 48 and vfor each printing operation a freshly inked projection 43will be moved into position `to contact withy the underside of thecheck` draft or other` A spring 56 engages fthe, notches 57 for holdingthe 'ratchet from .ro-- tating as thepawl passesfrom one "toot-h toinstrument.

another (see Figures 7 and 8).

`For the purpose of apply-ing ink to 4the characters of the type wheel,`I prefer to provide carriers or cages 58 and 59 having ink rollers 60and 61 I yieldingly mounted therein. These carriers may be removed fromthe machine when it is desired to ap'- ply fresh ink to the rollers. Forthis purpose, the carrier 58 has sliding connections at 60 with thecasing 3 and is secured theref to, preferably in thesame manner as thecarrier 50. The carrier 59 is provided with a projection 6l in its frontand a slot 62 to straddle the screw 63. By loosening thls y Y screw, thecarrier may be readily 4removed from the machine that the characters onthe printing wheel will contact therewith and be inked with eachVprinting operation.

For feeding the check, draft or other inV strumcnt to be printed ormarked with each successive operation of the printing wheel, I prefer toprovide the following described mechanism A plate 64 is secured to one4end of the case and isprovided with adjustable guides 65 and 66 forchecks or drafts of different widths and lengths, (see Figures land theposition of the instrument Ain the kmachine being indicated by dottedlines in Figure 1. The end of the check or draft is insertedbetween feedrolls 66y Vv'and `67, the

latter being mounted in a yoke 68 carriedV by a shaft 69 havinv suitablebearings in the base of the machine and provided with a suitable lever 70 within convenient reach of' the operator by meansof whichv the yoke 68is rocked to depress the roll 67 yand allow rthe insertion of the checkor draft between it and theV roll 66. A spring 71 normally holds theroll 67 in contact with the roll 66 with a yielding pressure. The feedroll G6 is secured to the shaft 71 and a similar shaft 72 has bearingsin the casing 3. Secured on the shaft 72 is a ratchet wheel 73. An arm74 is loosely mounted on the shaft- 72 on one side of the ratchet wheel,held in place by a collar 75 on` said shaft. Onthe other side of theratchet between it and a collar 76 vI mount a bracket 77. 71 and 72 havegears78 and 78 in mesh. The arm 74 has an extension provided with a,jpawl 7 9 held in engagement with the `teeth of theV ratchet 73 when inits normal position by means of a stop r8O (sce Figure The shafts loe lif) 2) and thereby theratchet is prevented Vfrom y moving 'too far. Aspring plate 81prevents backward movementof the ratchet.

arnr 74 has al pivotal connection at 82 with the shaft 9. Said yoke isnormal-ly held in itsraised position by means of springsf87 attached' tothe arms 86 and its movement is limited by the pawl 79, the ratchetteeth The a l'ink8'3 which is pivoted at 84 onayokey which has varms 86loosely mounted on and the stop 8O'` Assuming that the word l one isbeing printcdthe pawl will move over'four teeth of the ratchet Vanduponire@ areletters in the Word to be printed plus one for the space. y

To accomplish this result, I provide the yoke with a series of steps 88cut to varying ,depths according to the required travel of the yoke forthe key opposite which the step is located. In printing a long Word, orone containing .a number of letters, the key Will have a shorter travelbefore coming in contact with its sten on the yoke as when printing ashort Word and as movement of the yoke will begin upon contact of thekey therewith, it is evident that With the Drinting of a long Word, andthe travel of the key being always the same, the yoke will be rockedfurther than in printing a short word. The pawl Will therefore movefartherin printingv a longvord and travel over a greater number of teethon the ratchet than in printing a short Word and through the gears 78and 7S operate the feed wheels 6G and advance the check or draft acorresponding distance. The t'avel, therefore, of the check in themachine is commensurate with the movement of the yoke, the keys for theshort Words through the yoke mechanism described operating the feedwheels of the checka distance corresponding to the length of the wordand increasing as the length of the words to be printed increasesl theheight of the step in each case controlling the feed et the check ordraft. The keys may have iigurcs thereon or Words, as may be desired,each key having a Word or character thereon corresponding to the one onthe printing wheel which is adjusted in its printing position throughthe mechanismI described by the operation of its key, and is thereafter:locked in this position While the printing is being done by theconvexand concave faces of the keyrand cam and also bythevsupplenicntaryv locking mechanism heretofore dcscribed. This latter4may be omitted and various other modifications may be made in Y theconstruction Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

l. A check protector comprising a print-` ing Wheel having a 4series ofperipheral marks or characters and mounted to be rocked in oppositedirections, groups of cams' mounted on an axis parallel with the axis ofthe printing wheel, means connecting oney group of cams with theprinting Wheel to rockv it in one direction and connecting the other'vgroup with the Wheel to rock it in an opposite direction, said camsbeingpositioncd to impart dilferent extent of movements to.

the printing Wheel and disposed in the path of movement of opcratmg keysWhoseA axis isparallelwith the,v axis of the cams, andy keys for thecams `of the different groups, said keys being disposed to be normallyout of contact With their cams and adapted to be moved into contact withtheir cooperating cams for movement of the printing Wheel. l

2. A check protector comprising a printing Wheel having a series ofperipheral marks or characters and mounted to be rocked in oppositedirections, groups of cams mounted on an axis parallel with the axis ofthe printing Wheel, means connectinfr one group of cams with theprinting whee to rock it in one direction and connecting the other groupwith the Wheel to rock it in the opposite direction, said cams beingpositioned to impart dillerent extent of movements to the rinting Wheel,kkeys for the cams of the di'erent groups of cams disposed to makecontact with theirv respcctive coactingcams to move the printinWheehmeans 'for restoring the cams and printing Wheel to normal positionon release of the keys, and means coacting with the keys to renderinelective the restoring means when thekeys are moved for contact withthe cams.

3. A check protector comprising a printing Wheel having a series ofperipheral marks or characters and mounted to be rocked in oppositedirections, groups of cams mountedon an axis parallel with the axis ofthe printing Wheel, means connecting one group of cams with the printingwheel to rock `it in one direction and connecting the other grou i withthe wheel to rock it in the opposite direction, said cams heiligpositioned to impart different extent ot nievements to the printingWheel, keys for the cams.of the different groups of` cams disposed tomake contact with their respective coacting cams to move the printingWheel, a second printing member disposed at the underside of theprinting Wheel and carried by a rocking arm, a jointed-link connectionbetween the rocking arm and a member positioned in the path of travelofthe actuating keys and actuated by the keys for moving the secondprinting member into `cooperative relation to the printing Wheel.

1i. A check protector comprising a print ing Wheel having a series otperipheral marks or characters and mounted to be rocked in oppositedirections, groups of cams mounted on an axis parallel with the axis ofthe printing Wheel and disposed inthe pat-hl of movement of operatingkeys whose axis is parallel with the axis of the cams, means connectingone group of cams with theprinting wheel to rock it in one direc tionand connecting the other group with the wheel to rock it inthe oppositedirection, keys for the cams of the di'erent groups of cams disposed tomake contact with their respective coacting cams to move the printingWheel, means for feeding paper to the printing Wheel, said meansincluding a step-shaped member positioned in the path of travel of theoperating keys and conlll() llo nected with a progressively moved devicefor engagement with' the paper, the steps of the step-shaped memberconforming tol a predetermined movement of the keys corlresponding*tothe length of the characters 4to be printed, the step-shaped'- memberbeing actuated by the keys whichoperate the printing wheel.

5. A check protector comprising a printing member having peripheralmarks or characters thereon, a set of operating keys, a correspondingnumber of cams Vhaving concave surfaces to receive corresponding convexsurfaces provided on said keys, and mechanism connecting' said cams withsaid printing wheel. 6. A checkV protector comprising a printing wheelhaving peripheral 4marks or lcharacters thereon andi mounted' to rock inopposite directions to present said characters to a printing position,shafts mounted in concentric relation adjacent'to said wheel and gearedthereto, cams mounted in grooves on said shafts and having contractingsurfaces in staggered relation for varying the stroke of said camsandthe travel of said printing wheel, and a corresponding number ofactuating keys mounted' toengage the contacting surfaces of said camsvfor operating 'them and said wheel.

7. A check protectory comprising a set of operating keys, a rotatableprinting member, having marks or characters spaced thereon, a secondrotatable printing member having spaced projections thereon, and beingmovable against the first namedf printing member, mechanism co-operatingwith said keys for feeding and spacing a check or other instrumentbetween said printing members,commensurate with the length of the marksor character-sto be printed, and mechanism for inking bothprintingmembers, and printing; said check on opposite sides, all of said devicesbeing cooperatively connected for operation 4by a single operation of akey.

8. Acheck protector comprising a set of operating" keys, a movableprinting member having marks or characters spaced thereon,-

a second printing member movable against the first named member, saidprinting members adapted to print on both sides of a check, andmechanism co-operating with the keys for feeding a check or otherinstrument between said printing members and spacing it commensurate tothe length of the character to be printed and means for actuating thetwo printing members for printing the check or instrument on both sides,all of said operations, including the moving of the printing members,being performed by a single operation of a key.

9. A check protector comprising a set of operating keys having visiblemarks or characters,- a movable printing member having 'tion of a key.

corresponding marks or characters spaced thereon', second printingmember movable against the first named member, said printing' membersadapted to print on both sides of a check, and mechanism co-operatingwith the keys for feeding and spacing a` member, a number of camsarranged toberocked by said keys and having concave surfaces to receivecorresponding convex locking surfaces provided on the keys, connectionsbetween said cams and said marking member and feed mechanism Vincludinga progressively moved 4device anda stepshaped memberv connectedtherewithI and positioned in the path of movement ofthe keys forcommensurately feeding paper relatively to the marking number uponactuall. A check protector comprising a rotatable printing member havinga series of Adifferentiated printing characters spaced thereon, a seriesof operating keys, each key having aV visible character correspondingtoi-a character on the printing member, a second rotatable printingmember'y having a series of printing surfaces and being movable againstthe first named member, mechanism operative by themovement of the keysfor feeding and positioning a check or other instrument between theprinting members for each stroke of a key and commensurate plus a`space, mechanism also operative by the keysfor supplying-ink tobothprinting members and printing differentiated characters on one sideof the check or instrument and a longitudinal mark with respect to thecheck on the other side of the check to the length of the character tobe printed opposite the imprint on the face of the' of said members, andmechanism co-operating with the key and printing members for printingthe mark or character visible on the key on one side of the check orinstrument and a mark with respect to the check on the other side by thelast movement of the key.

13. A check protector comprising a rotatable printing wheel havingdifferentiated marks or characters spaced thereon, a series of operatingoscillating keys having visible marks or characters corresponding to themarks on the printing Wheel, a second printing wheel or platen having alongitudinal uniform printing surface, a series of cams arranged in thepath of said keys and having concave surfaces to be engaged and rockedby the keys and receive corresponding convex locking surfaces providedon the keys, connections between said cams and said printing wheel,.mechanism for feeding a check or other instrument between the firstprinting Wheel and second printing wheel a distance commensurate to thelength of the character to be printed, and inking devices f forsupplying ink to both printing wheels, all

of said parts being cooperatively connected to act in conjunction in oneoperation of each key.

14. .A cheek protector comprising a set of operating keys, havingvisible marks or characters, a primary rotatable printing member havingcorresponding marks or characters circumferentially spaced thereon, asecondary printing member and platen movable against the prima-rymember, mechanism including cams operating when a key is struck formoving the primary printing member into position to bring its mark,corresponding to the mark on the operated key, into alignment With thesecondary printing member, mechanism including a yoke for feeding acheck or other instrunient between said printing members and spacing itcommensurate with the length of the mark on the operated key, mechanismco-operating with the key for locking the primary printing memberagainst movement when the check in position, and mechanism for operatingthe platen in printing, all of Said mechanism, including means forrestoring all the parts, being cooperatively connected to complete afull cycle of movements by one forward and one backward stroke of a key.

15. A check protector comprising a wheel mounted to rock on alongitudinal axis and having a series of peripheral marks or charactersthereon, a set of operating keys and mechanism actuated by the movementof said keys for rocking said printing wheel to adjust a characterthereon in a printing position, a check or draft feeding means, arocking yoke having a series of steps therein in the path of said keys,and actuated by said keys, the depths of said steps being commensuraterespectively with the lengths of the marks on the printing wheel, andmechanism connecting said yoke with said check feeding means andincluding a ratchet wheel fixed to a transmitting shaft and an armloosely mounted on the same shaft and carrying a pawl coacting with theratchet wheel and actuated from said yoke.

16. A check protector comprising a printing wheel mounted to rock on alongitudinal axis and having a series of peripheral marks or charactersthereon, a set of operating keys and mechanism actuated by the movementot said keys for rocking saidv printing wheel to adjusta characterthereon in a printing position, a check or draft feeding mechanism, arocking yoke member having a series of steps therein of different heightin the path of said keys, and actuated by said keys, the height of saidsteps being connnensurate with the required stroke of travel of saidyokeand a, link having a. pivotal connection with said yoke member andconnected with the check moving mechanism through a pawl and ratchetactuated from the yoke.

In witness whereof,l have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of May,1918.

GAYLORD W. BEEBE,

